The father of Floyd Schofield Jr has sensationally claimed the boxer was a victim of an attempted murder before withdrawing from his fight against Shakur Stevenson.

Schofield Jr was removed from his fight against WBC lightweight world champion Stevenson, which was due to take place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on Saturday, citing illness.

But when commenting on his son's withdrawal from the bout, Floyd Schofield Sr reportedly gave an update on the 22-year-old's condition - before claiming "someone tried to kill him".

"Floyd will be OK and will make a full recovery," he said. "Someone tried to kill him."

Schofield Sr had posted an image of his son lying in a hospital bed to social media as apparent proof that he wasn't ducking Stevenson. However, he was coy in providing details to explain exactly what had happened to the American boxer.

"As a parent I am overwhelmed. People can be cruel and evil," He wrote in the caption on Instagram. "The comeback will be major. No-one ducks a fight with Mr Pillow Hands."

It has not yet been confirmed what injury or illness Schofield Jr suffered in the alleged incident.

His denial came after reports suggested the British Boxing Board of Control (BBBofC) had instructed him to pull out of the fight on medical grounds.

A series of posts from Schofield Jr's X account (formerly Twitter) alluded to foul play being a factor in his withdrawal from the fight.

"People are going to feel dumb when they see the proof. People fear Floyd and this just made him more focused. Karma is very real… All things will be revealed in time. We look forward going home to Texas and on to the next fight. The fight game is so dirty on this level."

It later indicated that the WBA international champion could still attend the revised fight between Stevenson and his new opponent.

It read: "If Floyd recover[s] in time, we will be at the fight to support all the fighters who are chasing their dreams and feeding their families."

While Schofield recovers from his unspecified ailment, Stevenson, 27, has held talks to remain on the undercard for the Artur Beterbiev vs Dmitry Bivol headline fight.

He could be set to fight Josh Padley instead, with the Briton one of the names under consideration, according to BBC Sport.

"I'm going to catch you all Saturday," Stevenson said on X. "I still got a job to do, [I don't] got time for the trolls, I'm locked in."